Green

The City of Oceanside (City) appeals a $125,000 judgment entered on the jury verdict in favor of plaintiff William Green on his amended complaint seeking damages for wrongful termination and for violating the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The City asserts the court lacked jurisdiction because Green failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, Green’s award of damages for emotional distress was improper because such damages were subject to the exclusive remedy rule of worker’s compensation, the jury was improperly instructed that they could substitute their own judgment for that of the employer on what is or is not good faith and fair dealing and what constitutes good cause for termination and the trial court erred in not granting the City’s nonsuit motion because Green did not present evidence sufficient to make out a prima facie case of wrongful termination. We reject these arguments and affirm the judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

I

We preface the following factual summary with the comment that we have varied the form of this opinion to highlight the procedural uniqueness of this case. Rather than stating the facts which immediately follow in…

I respectfully dissent.

The City of Oceanside (City) appeals a $125,000 judgment entered after a jury returned its verdict in favor of William Green on his amended complaint for damages for breach of contract by wrongful termination and for violation of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. City asserts: the trial court lacked jurisdiction because Green failed to exhaust his administrative remedies; Green’s exclusive remedy for emotional distress was a workers’ compensation claim; the jury was improperly instructed that it could substitute its own judgment for that of the employer on what is or is not good faith and fair dealing and what constitutes good cause for termination; and the trial court erred in not granting City’s nonsuit motion because Green did not present evidence sufficient to make out a prima facie case of wrongful termination. 1 Finding merit in City’s arguments on exhaustion of administrative remedies, the exclusive remedy doctrine, and jury instructions, I would reverse.

My colleagues have presented a thorough review of the pertinent facts, and I adopt parts II and III of the majority opinion here.

Discussion

I

City’s contention Green failed to…

WIENER, Acting P.J.

The City of Oceanside (City) appeals a $125,000 judgment entered on the jury verdict in favor of plaintiff William Green on his amended complaint seeking damages for wrongful termination and for violating the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The City asserts the court lacked jurisdiction because Green failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, Green's award of damages for emotional distress was improper because such damages were subject to the exclusive remedy rule of worker's compensation, the jury was improperly instructed that they could substitute their own judgment for that of the employer on what is or is not good faith and fair dealing and what constitutes good cause for termination and the trial court erred in not granting the City's nonsuit motion because Green did not present evidence sufficient to make out a prima facie case of wrongful termination. We reject these arguments and affirm the judgment.

We preface the following factual summary with the comment that we have varied the form of this opinion to highlight the procedural uniqueness of this case. Rather than stating the facts which immediately follow in the light most…